TD Busted.....not a penny stock but regulators are watching....came upon this by chance...
TD Bank traders probed for market rumors 16 minutes ago - Reuters
TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO said on Wednesday that it was looking into allegations that a handful of traders improperly passed on rumors to clients about a stock, believed to be Canadian oil sands
company OPTI Canada OPC.TO.
While Canada's second-largest bank declined to disclose any details about the investigation reported by the Globe
and Mail newspaper, TD spokeswoman Simone Philogene said the company knew about the incident.
"We are aware of the situation and have self-reported to the appropriate regulatory authorities," Philogene said.
"Like any firm, we obviously take these sorts of things exceptionally seriously. It is under internal review, and I can't
say anything further."
The newspaper said U.S. brokerage watchdog Financial Industry Regulatory Authority was looking into the matter
and that the bank had suspended four employees.
Sources told the newspaper that three of the employees work on the New York sales and trading team at its TD
Securities arm, while the fourth works in the Canadian research department.
The Globe said the employees were sent home about nine weeks ago after a TD client contacted the bank's
compliance department about an e-mail regarding a rumor in the oil patch.
The Globe, citing sources, said an analyst at TD e-mailed a market rumor to the firm's sales and trading desk in
New York, which then passed it to some institutional sources.
The practice has come under intense scrutiny as U.S. regulators crack down on gossip that causes stock
gyrations.
OPTI Canada, a Calgary-based oil sands company, hired TD Securities late last year to advise it on its funding
options for 2009. The stock has climbed more than 400 percent since mid-March on takeover rumors.
Officials at OPTI could not be immediately reached for comment.
($1=$1.09 Canadian)
(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins and Scott Anderson, Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Lisa Von Ahn)